The present invention relates to a method of playing a board game by two or more players who take turns moving game pieces in order to capture the game pieces of the other players. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of playing a checkers-type game where the game pieces are marked with ranking indicia to determine whether one game piece can capture another.
The game of checkers is a well-known board game played on an eight-by-eight square board of two colors, with diagonally adjacent squares being of the same color. One player uses twelve game pieces of one color and the opposing player uses game pieces of a different color. The game pieces are normally of a shallow disk shape and are permitted to move diagonally forward, i.e., toward the opponent's side one square at a time. If a first player's game piece is diagonally adjacent to the opponent's game piece, the first player's game piece may "jump" the opponent's game piece as long as he can land in an aligned square. If, in such a move, the first player's game piece lands adjacent another game piece of the opponent, he can jump that game piece in the same turn as long as the next square in line is unoccupied. A player must jump the opponent's game piece if possible. If a player's game piece reaches the opponent's back row, then that game piece is "kinged" or "crowned", such that it can move in any diagonal direction. The object of checkers is to capture or block all of the opponent's game pieces. However, each game piece is of an equal rank, thus limiting the strategy of the game. Moreover, checkers is not practicable to play with more than two players.
Chess is a more complicated board game of ancient origin. Unlike checkers, each player in chess utilizes sixteen pieces or "chessmen" consisting of eight pieces and eight pawns. Also, the chessmen can occupy squares of both colors. Each player moves his chessmen according to fixed types of movements across the board. The object is to checkmate the opponent's "king" game piece. However, although the chessmen may be considered to be ranked, the lowest ranked game piece, the pawn, can take the highest ranked game piece, the king. Also, as in checkers, chess is not practicable to play with more than two players.
Other games have been developed based on the traditional games of checkers and chess. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,066,244 to Bates relates to a game apparatus including a game board based on a checkerboard including two eight-by-eight playing areas disposed on opposite sides of a reduced two-by-four playing area. The game pieces are numbered from 1 to 12. Each player endeavors to secure a certain number, for example, 70, resulting from adding the numerals on the game pieces that are taken. Four persons may play the game, with partners being seated on the same side of the board. Suitable rules may be made such that partners' game pieces may cross from one board to the other board, or game pieces can be surrendered from one partner to another.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,062 to Johnson relates to a board game using a checkerboard of ten rows of eight squares each. Each player uses twelve game pieces numbered 1 through 12 with each game piece also including a mathematical symbol for addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. The game is played much like checkers with the players moving forward, jumping, removing jumped pieces and becoming a king. Points are scored for not only winning the game, but also for performing the mathematical function represented by each jump.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,016 to McInnis relates to a method of playing a game for two players and including both a board having rows and columns of squares and consecutively numbered playing tokens. A rule of the game is that a player's token may jump an opponent's token that is occupying an adjacent square forward, diagonally forward, or on the side thereof, only if the number of the player's token and the number of the opponent's token multiply to an even number. The object of the game is for a player to advance the number 10 token to the opponent's end of the board or to capture the opponent's number 10 token.